Zool 250 Invertebrate Zoology Computer Animations*

   octopus_forward_sm_wht.gif, 14K

NOTE: Most browsers will NO LONGER PLAY THESE ANIMATIONS.

To play these animations, you need to download the .swf file to your device and then open the .swf file in a video player application like Elmedia Video Player (for Mac) or (for PC).

TAXON/TOPICSNAPSHOTANIMATION SUBJECT
MICROSCOPE
micro_fla.jpg, 8K
Parts of a compound microscope and their functions.
  • Test your ability to identify various parts of a microscope and provides details about their function.
PROTISTA
(Choanoflagellata)
choanoflag-fla.jpg, 16K
Form and feeding of collar flagellates.
  • Includes animations of a solitary form, a colonial form and a pelagic form.
  • Illustrates water flow and particle capture in these iconic protists.
PORIFERA
Porifera-fla.jpg, 16K
Water flow and feeding in sponges.
  • Includes animations of sponge cell types and body plans.
  • Illustrates water flow through each sponge form and particle capture by choanocytes.
CNIDARIA
(Hydrozoa)
Hydrozoa-LC-fla.jpg, 11K
Life cycle of the hydroid Obelia.
  • Illustrates all stages in a typical hydrozoan life cycle.
  • Includes a self-testing quiz on the parts of hydrozoan polyps, medusae and other life-cycle stages.
CNIDARIA
(Scyphozoa)
Scyphozoa-LC-fla.jpg, 11K
Life cycle of a typical scyphozoan jellyfish.
  • Illustrates all stages in a typical scyphozoan life cycle.
  • Includes a self-testing quiz on the parts of scyphozoan polyps, medusae and other life-cycle stages.
BILATERIA
excretion-fla.jpg, 22K
Ultrafiltration, transport and resorption in bilaterian excretory systems.
  • Includes animations of both protonephridial and metanephridial excretory systems, and an enlarged view of podocytes where ultrafiltration takes place in a metanephridial system.
MOLLUSCA
(Bivalvia)
mussel-fla.jpg, 26K
Water flow and feeding in a filibranch bivalve (mussel).
  • Includes animations of water flow through the mantle cavity, particle transport on the filibranch gill surfaces, particle sorting, particle capture and transport by cilia on the gill filaments.
  • Illustrates major body parts and details of filibranch gill structure.
MOLLUSCA
(Bivalvia)
clam-fla.jpg, 15K
Water flow and feeding in a eulamellibranch bivalve (clam).
  • Includes animations of water flow through the mantle cavity, particle transport on the eulamellibranch gill surfaces, particle sorting, ejection of pseudofeces, particle capture and transport by cilia on the gill filaments.
  • Illustrates major body parts and details of eulamellibranch gill structure.
MOLLUSCA
(Cephalopoda)
squid-fla.jpg, 16K
Water flow and jet propulsion in a squid.
  • Includes animations of water flow through the mantle cavity, muscles involved in expansion and contraction of the mantle, and valves involved in jetting.
  • Illustrates major body parts, and the structure and arrangement of mantle muscles.
ANNELIDA
(Polychaeta)
polychaete-fla.jpg, 22K
Form and locomotion of a nereid worm.
  • Includes animations of the unusual body movements of a swimming polychaete and detailed animations of the muscles that control body-segment shape and parapodial shape during locomotion.
  • Illustrates key body segments and the major segmental and parapodial muscles.
ANNELIDA
(Oligochaeta)
oligochaete-fla.jpg, 21K
Form and locomotion of an earthworm.
  • Includes animations of the body movements of a burrowing earthworm and detailed animations of the muscles that control body-segment shape during burrowing.
  • Illustrates key body segments and regions, and the major body wall muscles and body cavities.
ARTHROPODA
(Crustacea)
crabclaw-fla.jpg, 17K
Form and function of a decapod limb and claw.
  • Includes animations of a claw and walking leg of a typical decapod (e.g., crab, lobster or shrimp), showing how muscles connect to tendons (apodemes) to make the limb/claw work.
  • Illustrates key parts and muscles of a decapod limb.
ECHINODERMATA
(Echinoidea)
urchin-fla.jpg, 18K
Form and feeding of sea urchins.
  • Includes animations of the motion of podia, spines, pedicellaria, and the various parts of the unique rasping structure of sea urchins (AristotleÕs lantern).
  • Illustrates key parts, and skeletal elements and muscles of AristotleÕs lantern.
CHORDATA
(Urochordata)
seasquirt-fla.jpg, 18K
Sea squirt anatomy and feeding.
  • Includes animations of water flow through the pharyngeal cavity, particle capture and transport by cilia-propelled mucus, and particle ingestion in a solitary sea squirt.
  • Detailed animations illustrate how particles are captured and transported by the mucus sheet.
  • Illustrates major body parts a sea squirt and details of pharyngeal basket structure.
INVERTEBRATE DIVERSITY QUIZ
DiversityQuiz.jpg, 19K
Invertebrate Diversity Quiz.
  • Test your ability to recognize animal taxa from pictures and your ability to assign animals to phyla.
  • This unique quiz asks you which picture of 9 displayed represents a given animal group and to which phylum it belongs.
  • Question order is random, as are the decoy images, so the quiz is different each time you take it.

* Most of these animations were written and directed by
Rich Palmer, and programmed by Heather Kroening (the Invertebrate Diversity Quiz was programmed by Gregg Dearborn). Heather wrote, directed and programmed the microscope animation, and the hydrozoan & scyphozoan life cycles.

To view the animations properly you must have the most recent version of the Flash browser plugin installed (download plugin). For other teaching animations, visit the Biological Sciences multimedia page.


Back to Zool 250 Home Page
(revised Jan. 1, 2023)